San Paolo fuori le Mura
San Paolo fuori le Mura is a patriarchal basilica dedicated to St Paul, near the site of his tomb and containing his shrine. It is also the Roman basilica assigned to the Patriarch of Alexandria, and the second largest church in Rome. The postal address is Via Ostiense 184. History Early days After his execution at Tre Fontane, St Paul was buried in a cemetery at this site which is about two kilometres from the city walls by the road to Ostia. A shrine, or cella memoriae, was soon erected, and many early Christians came to venerate the Apostle to the Gentiles. The first church here was, according to the Liber Pontificalis, built by Emperor Constantine and consecrated on 18 November 324. It was a small church, built over the grave of St Paul, and was located between two ancient roads (one of these survives as the main road to the east). This edifice had two apses, one fitting into the present one and the other just under the present triumphal arch. Between 384 and 386, Emperors Valentinian II , Theodosius I and Arcadius demolished the church and built a large basilica. The architect was Cyriades. According to the inscription on the triumphal arch, it was consecrated in 390 by Siricius, and completed in 395 under Emperor Honorius . Although heavily restored, not least after it was damaged by fire in the 19th century, the present basilica looks much the same as it did in the 4th century. Pope St Leo the Great (440–461) started restoring the church, and it was he who by tradition begun the series of papal portraits in the nave. About 50 years later, Pope St Symmachus (498–514) ordered the reconstruction of the apse which was unsafe, and also a hostel for pilgrims. Several more restorations and changes were later carried out, under Pope St Gregory the Great (who raised the floor of the transept), Pope Sergius I (who repaired the roof and the hostel), Pope Hadrian I (he restored the aisles and laid a new floor in the atrium) and Pope Leo III (the transept, roof and floors were repaired again, and he also added the apse mosaic). in the 7th century it was recorded that there were two monasteries attached to the church, one for monks and one for nuns. Pope Gregory II (715-31) re-founded the male monastery for Benedictine monks, who have been in residence ever since. In 739 and 773 the Lombards plundered the church, and in 843 Muslim pirates sailed up the Tiber and thoroughly pillaged it. By tradition, they did not find the apostle's tomb in the process because Pope Sergius III, forewarned, had walled it up. As a result of all this, in 883 a set of defensive walls and towers encircling the church were completed. This created a little walled town known as "Johannipolis" (in Italian Giovannipoli), or "City of John" after PopeJohn VIII. The defence works were tested in 1083–1084, when they withstood several attacks by Emperor Henry IV. Meanwhile, in 937 the church was entrusted to the great reforming Benedictine abbey of Cluny in France, which re-founded the monastery here as a dependency. Its most famous superior, Hildebrand, restored and embellished the church around 1070 before he became Pope Gregory VII. A campanile was built at the entrance end of the left hand outer aisle, and a magnificent bronze door from Constantinople was provided for the main entrance in 1070. Middle Ages In 1115 there was a serious fire, and Pope Innocent II had a wall with columns built along the major axis of the transept in order to support the unsafe roof. The transept was divided into two narrow aisles by this wall. During the reign of Pope Innocent III (1161-1216) the superb cloister was begun. Also in the 13th century the altar canopy was built, and a series of paintings on the main nave walls was executed by Pietro Cavallini. In 1325 the façade was provided with a mosaic. Disaster struck again in 1349, when an earthquake badly damaged the basilica and destroyed the bell-tower and part of the portico. Pope Clement VI had the damage repaired. During the "Babylonian Captivity " of the popes at Avignon in France, 1305-78, the abbey and basilica formed the most important functioning eccesiastical institution in Rome, and the abbot was effectively the Pope's deputy there. The official residence of the popes, the Lateran Palace, fell into ruin meanwhile. During the Middle Ages, the abbey was under the special patronage of the kings of England, and as a result its coat of arms contains the device of the "Order of the Garter", the highest chivalric dignity conferred by the English crown. This was founded in 1348 by King Edward III, and the garter concerned was a stocking support dropped by one of his female courtiers at an official function. At the start of the 15th century, the basilica was in bad repair. Major restorations started under Pope Boniface IX, when he allowed all donations to the church in return for indulgences to be used for repairs. Pope Martin V (1386-1481) continued the work, and in 1426 the work was intensified under the rector of the church, Gabriele Condulmer, later Pope Eugene IV. Under Pope Martin the monastery was taken away from the control of the abbey of Cluny and entrusted to the reforming Benedictine congregation of St Justina, partly in order to remove unwanted French influence. In the process the monastery was made an abbey nullius, meaning that it was its own diocese with the abbot simultaneously a bishop. This congregation was later known as the Cassinese when the abbey of Montecassino joined it. Post-medieval period In 1620 a chapel for the Blessed Sacrament was designed by Carlo Maderno, and built just to the right of the apse. In 1653 Francesco Borromini produced plans for a total restructuring of the church, at the request of Pope Innocent X . The basilica would have been given a Baroque makeover, with semi-circular pillared porticos at both ends. Due to a lack of funds, only the roof was renewed and this work was completed under Pope Clement X. At the end of the Holy Year of 1700, the Tiber flooded the area and the basilica could not be visited by pilgrims for the Jubilee indulgence. Its functions for the Jubilee were transferred to Santa Maria in Trastevere. This was the most famous of the many floods that the basilica suffered owing to its position, within a meander of the river. The portico was rebuilt in 1724, in preparation for the Holy Year of 1725, by Antonio Canevari. The former one, recently built by Alessandro Specchi, had collapsed on 1 May 1724. The ancient narthex was demolished at this time, and columns from the early four-sided portico were removed. At the same time, a series of other restorations were completed under Pope Benedit XIV. A chapel dedicated to the Crucifix was built to the left of the apse, the apse mosaic was restored (bits of the original work were removed, and are on display near the sacristy) and the series of papal portraits were brought up to date. The idea of adding a new painting for every new pope was then established. Appearance of the old basilica in c1800 Anybody visting the basilica at the start of the 19th century would have been confronted by a Baroque-style façade with an external loggia. This had seven entrance arches, the central one being flanked by piers with single Corinthinan columns but the other piers having doubled columns. Above the loggia the frontage of the nave had three large arched windows over three smaller ones, and above the windows the frontage was coved before ending in a triangular pediment. This coving was so that the medieval mosaics on this frontage did not seem foreshortened to a viewer in front of the church (see Santa Maria in Trastevere for a surviving example of this). The coving had a tondo of Christ in majesty supported by angels, with the symbols of the evangelists on either side. In between the large windows were figues of Our Lady and SS Paul, Peter and John the Baptist. The campanile on the left hand side, at the end of the outermost aisle, had three storeys of increasing height. The first one was Romanesque, with paired arches, but the other two had a high Gothic arch on each face and dated from the medieval rebuilding Inside, the nave columns were of marble, with Corinthian capitals and were ribbed. The four nearest the entrance had been walled in so as to buttress the façade. Above the main nave arcades, below the clerestory windows, was the cycle of frescoes by Cavallini (twenty-two in all) featured scenes from the Old Testament on the left hand side and from the Acts of the Apostles on the right. The roof was open, having enormous transverse beams supporting a truly massive composite beam which stretched the length of the nave. There was, however, coved ceilings for the transept. As mentioned, this was divided by a screen wall with a large arch behind the tomb, and four smaller ones on each side supported by three columns. To the left of the apse was a Baroque chapel with an apse, and to the right another one without. Behind the apse was a third, peculiar chapel on a trapezoidal plan. The fire of 1823 On the night between 15 and 16 July 1823, large parts of the basilica were damaged or destroyed by fire. It was probably started by a careless worker leaving a brazier burning while lead on the roof was being repaired. When the burning nave roof fell in, the temperature became so high that all the marble columns in the nave were calcined and the porphyry columns of the shrine exploded. It is said that Pope Pius VII, who was very ill and died on 20 August that year, was never told what had happened, after advice from his most trusted fellows such as the Secretary of State, Cardinal Consalvi. During the fire, the western half of the left hand nave arcade collapsed. The other columns on this side, and all on the right hand side, were still standing and supporting the upper walls but surviving engravings show them to be very seriously damaged. The wall of the triumphal arch with its mosaic was standing, but the supporting columns were also compromised and collapse was expected. The arcades of the outer aisles were less seriously damaged, and the mediaeval campanile was intact as was the Baroque portico. The rebuilding Pope Leo XII was elected on 18 November 1823, and initiated a heated debate about how to restore the church. Giuseppe Valadier had been appointed architect at first, but his plans for radical changes were eventually rejected and he was removed from the project in November 1825. He had initially proposed that the transept would become the church, and that the nave would be left unroofed as an ancient monument. However, the pope decided to restore the basilica to its former glory, rather than replace it with a new church in a more modern style. As a result restoration work continued for almost a century, until 1930. The first architect to lead the actual rebuilding was Pasquale Belli; Salvi, Paccagnini and Andrea Alippi were appointed as Belli's assistents. Work started in 1826, after a worldwide collection of funds had been taken. Belli demolished the triumphal arch after removing and storing the mosaic, and did the same to the portico and campanile. Most controversially, he demolished the nave arcades and in the process destroyed the surviving frescoes by Cavallini. For this he has been condemned, but saving them would have meant a serious investment of time and money. He also demolished the screen wall in the transept, and its end walls also. The triumphal arch was the first part of the church to be rebuilt, in 1829 using massive columns of Montórfano granite. Pope Gregory XVI took a great interest in the rebuilding; he was elected in 1831 at the time when the first of the eighty columns in the nave was erected. In 1833 Luigi Poletti became the new chief architect. He was assisted by Pietro Bosio, Pietro Camporese the Younger and Virgino Vespigniani. A new portico was added to the north end of the transept, which was roofed and became the church for the time beign after the high altar was re-consecrated on 5 October 1840 by Pope Gregory XVI. At that time, the nave was nowhere near completion, and so only the transept could be used. In 1845 two new chapels off the transept were built, bringing the total to four. However, work on the nave progressed so quickly that Pope Pius IX was able to perform a solemn consecration in 1854. Many art historians were brutally critical of the result, complaining that little that was old was preserved and that the result looked like a train station (that jibe came from Augustus Hare, and he was thinking of the Pennsylvania Railroad station in New York which could rival the church in magnificence). This was unfair, since the fire was so hot that even bronze melted on the entrance door and there was little left of the nave that was structurally sound. (Much salvaged stonework was, however, re-used as floor and wall covering.) On the other hand, it is correct to note that the present church nave, though magnificent, is a vast empty space with few devotional aids and in winter it can be painfully cold. A completely new campanile, on the site of the chapel behind the apse, was finished in 1860. Work on the façade took place between 1873 and 1884. The portico was started in 1890, and was only completed in 1928. The last work of restoration was the provision of a baptistry in 1931. Recent developments At the end of the 20th century, the Benedictine abbey suffered a crisis as its ageing community began to fail. This was part of the increasing difficulties being experienced by the Cassinese congregation of Benedictine monks, to which the abbey belonged. The abbot had to resign in 1996, and the Order of St Benedict came close to losing the church (by strong rumour, to Opus Dei). However, the Abbot Primate of the Order appealed to monasteries worldwide to provide monks for a new, international monastic community and this appeal was successful. The present community has become well-known for its ecumenical outreach. However, part of the agreement to establish this new community was that the basilica would cease to be a parish church, as several Benedictine congregations object to, or are wary of, running parishes. This took place in 2002, and in 2005 the abbot was deprived of his status as bishop. Portico Atrium and façade The original atrium had been demolished in the 14th century. When the church was rebuilt after the fire, it was decided to give it an atrium in the original style. The rebuilding took more than a century, but the result is very pleasing. It was designed by Luigi Poletti. Some alterations to the design were made by Virgino Vespagniani after Poletti's death in 1869, and it was finally constructed by Guglielmo Calderini in the years 1890–1928. Although it was built in the same style as the first atrium, it bears little resemblance to it since it is a much larger structure. The north and south side, 70 metres long, are covered on the outside by a travertine wall. The four corners have monumental propylaea. There are a total of 150 columns. The front (west) side has three rows of columns, and on the inner side there are thirteen lunettes with paintings depicting Christ giving a blessing and the Apostles. On the north and south sides, which have double rows of columns, there are painted medallions with various Christian symbols. The statue of St Paul in the atrium is by Giuseppe Obici, and was made in the 19th century. You should make a point of entering the church through the main doors - not only because it gives the right first impression of the interior, but also because the atrium is a good place to start your visit here. The gold mosaics are impressing, especially on a sunny day or in the evening when the façade is floodlit. The mosaics that were here at the time of the fire were moved to the arch over the apse. The present ones were made between 1854 and 1874 by Vatican workshops, based on designs by Filippo Agricola and Nicola Consoni. Christ is shown between the Apostles Peter and Paul. Below is the Lamb of God on the mountain of Paradise. The four rivers symbolize the gospels, and the twelve lambs drinking from the rivers symbolize the Apostles. The cities are Jerusalem and Bethlehem. The lower section shows the Old Testament Prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel. The main door The door, of bronze with inlaid silver, is modern, made 1929–1931 by Antonio Maraini after the old door had been damaged in the fire of 1823. It's 7.48 metres high and 3.35 metres wide. The old door had been a gift from Pope Gregory VII, set up in 1070, and was made of the same materials. The reliefs on the door show scenes from the lives, apostolates and martyrdoms of Sts Peter and Paul, according to the wishes of the abbot of the monastery, Ildefonso Shuster. Apart from the two central scenes, all of the events depicted took place in Rome. The reliefs depict (see drawing on the right): # Coat of arms of the Church # Coat of arms of Rome # The Crucifixion of St Peter # "Domine, Quo Vadis?" # Christ Giving the Keys to St Peter # Foundation of the Papal See # St Peter Baptizing in the Catacombs # The Beheading of St Paul # The Conversion of the Centurion # St Paul's Conversion # St Paul Teaching in Rome # St Paul Reaches Rome and is Welcomed by the Faithful Flanking the main door are 19th century statues of Sts Peter and Paul by Gregorio Zappalà. The Holy Door and Byzantine Door The Holy Door is to the far right. It is only open during Holy Years, and its opening is a ceremony performed by the Pope. The present door is of gilded bronze sculpted by Enrico Manfrini, and was installed in 2000 to replace an ordinary wooden door. There are six composite scenes depicted in relief. From top left, from left to right, they are: Resurrection, Prodigal Son and Good Samaritan; the Benignity of the Pope (note the dog); Pentecost (note Our Lady in the midst of the Apostles); Preaching and Martyrdom of St Paul; Crucifixion; Preaching Office of the Episcopate. The Latin inscription at the bottom reads: Ad sacram Pauli cunctis venientibus aedem sit pacis donum perpetuoque salus ''(May the gift of peace and salvation for ever be to all those coming to the holy temple of Paul).. It was one of the last wishes of Pope John XIII that the old main door be taken out of the museum and restored, and since 1967 it is used to close the inside of the Holy Door between Jubilee Years. An inscription reveals that it was commissioned by Pantaleone, consul of Amalfi in Constantinople, and was made by Teodoro in 1070. The metal founder was called Staurachio. Its 54 panels show scenes from the lives of Christ and the Apostles. There are three columns and nine rows on each of the two leaves. The left hand leaf has, left to right and top to bottom: Annunciation; Nativity; Presentation. Baptism of Christ, Transfiguration, Entry into Jerusalem. Crucifixion, Deposition from the Cross, Resurrection. Appearance to the Apostles in the Upper Room, Ascension, Pentecost. The Cross, ''Tu quoque, ''Martyrdom of St Paul. Christ with SS Paul and Panteleimon, Martyrdom of St Peter, St Peter. Martyrdom of St Andrew, St Andrew, Burial of St John. St John the Evangelist, Martyrdom of St Bartholomew, St Bartholomew. Eagle, St Thomas, Martyrdom of St Thomas. The right hand leaf has, left to right and top to bottom: Martyrdom of St Philip, St Philip, Martyrdom of St James. St James, Martyrdom of St Simon, St Simon. Burial of St Matthew, St Matthew, Burial of St Luke. St Luke, Martyrdom of St Mark, St Mark. Moses, ''Paule beate, ''The Cross (again). David, Isaiah, Hezekiah. Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel. Elijah, Elisha, Jonah. Obediah, Zephaniah, Eagle (again). Nave The nave, with two aisles on each side and twenty columns in each arcade of Montorfano granite, was reconstructed 1831–1854. The plan remains as it was when the basilica was built, and the decoration is kept in the same style. Pasquale Belli made the first designs, and he was followed by Luigi Poletti in 1833. The counterfaçade has six alabaster columns given by the Khedive of Egypt in 1840; there are four more by the confessio. The two central columns bear the arms of Pope Pius IX, made by Giosué Meli. The ceiling is decorated with the coats-of-arms of the popes who were engaged in the rebuilding. The lower windows have fine alabaster panes, given by King Fuad I of Egypt. In niches along the walls, there are statues of ten Apostles. They were made in 1882, together with the statues of SS Peter and Paul by the confessio. Among the artists who made them are A. Allegretti, F. Fabi-Altini, E. Gallori and E. Maccagnani. St Peter is by Alberto Giacometti, and St Paul by Salvatore Revelli. Paintings on nave walls Paintings high up on the walls depict scenes from the missionary travels of St Paul, taken from the Acts of the Apostles. The project was started by Pope Pius IX. It took 22 artists only three years to complete the work, from 1857 to 1860. The windows and panels are divided by Corinthian pilaster strips. Portraits of the Popes Along the nave, there are mosaics of all the popes, from Peter to Benedict XVI. Pope Benedict XIV commissioned Salvatore Monosilio to make portraits up to his time. Those portraits were destroyed in the fire in 1823. Pope Pius IX (1846-1878) restarted the project in 1847, and since then it has been updated whenever a new pope is elected. There are currently eight spaces available. Triumphal arch The first arch you come to as you walk up the nave is from the 5th century. The head of Christ is in the centre, with his hand raised in blessing in the Byzantine manner, and to the sides are symbols of the Evangelists, the 24 Ancients of the Apocalypse and angels. Below are Sts Peter and Paul, the latter pointing toward his tomb. An inscription along the edge mentions the Emperor Theodosius, the Dowager Empress Galla Placidia (it is often referred to as the Arch of Galla Placidia), who donated the mosaic and Pope St Leo I. The mosaic was damaged in the fire, but has been restored. The columns supporting the arch are new. The inscription reads: THEODOSIUS COEPIT PERFECIT HONORIUS AULAM / DOCTORIS MUNDI SACRATAM CORPORE PAULI (Theodosius started it, Honorius finished it, it is made sacred by the body of Paul the teacher of the world). High altar and confessio The transept was raised under Pope Gregory the Great. A crypt was opened behind the high altar at the same time, but it was removed later, probably under Pope Leo III (795-816). The high altar is a papal altar, meaning that only the Holy Father and those with special permission may celebrate Mass at it. It stands over the tomb of St Paul. Bishops who come to the "treshold of the Apostles" come here, and to the confessio at San Pietro in Vaticano where St Peter is buried, to kneel in prayer. It was erected in 1600, under Pope Clement VIII. The canopy is by Arnolfo di Cambio, and was his first work in Rome, made in 1285. He was assisted by a colleague identified as Peter ("cum suo socio Petro"). It's in the Gothic style, which is a bit unfortunate in this church. The porphyry columns are new, but the rest survived the fire. By the confessio are four alabaster columns that support nothing but air. They were given to the church by the Khedive of Egypt, and formed part of a large baldachino that covered this area - it even covered the canopy above the high altar. It was taken done after only a short time, but the columns remain. When they were erected, a 1st or 2nd century tomb of St Paul was found. A slab found here is now behind a grille, but if the church is not too crowded you can ask an attendant to see it. The inscription says PAULO APOSTOLO MART, and it has been dated to the 4th century, although there is little to go by other than the crude style of the letters. The openings in the slab were used to send incense into the tomb, and to pass pieces of cloth nearer the body so that they could be taken away as relics. It is often impossible to get a chance to see it, but there is a copy in the museum is you want to get an idea of what it looks like. The balustrade surrounding the tomb was erected for the 1575 Jubilee. Paschal candlestick The huge paschal candlestick in the right-hand transept, standing more than 5 metres high, is by Nichola dell'Angelo and Pietro Vassalletto, and was made in the 12th century. The base and top may have been reused from an older candlestick. The decoration depicts Christ's Passion, Death and Resurrection. Altar of the Conversion of St Paul This is in the left hand transept. The altar was made in the 19th century, using malachite and lapis lazuli provided by Tsar Nicholas I of Russia. The malachite is bright green, and the lapis is rich blue. Next to it are statues of Pope St Gregory the Great and St Bernard of Clairvaux. The altarpiece is by Vincenzo Camuccini. Chapel of St Stephen There are four large enclosed chapels flanking the apse. The first on the left is that of St Stephen. This 19th century chapel is a reminder that before his conversion, St Paul took part in the stoning of St Stephen, protomartyr of the Church. A statue of the saint by Rinaldo Rinaldi stands above the altar. The ''Stoning of St Stephen is by Francesco Podesti, and the Expulsion from the Sanhedrin is by Francesco Coghetti; both of these were executed in the 19th century. Part of the materials in the marble wall decoration are salvage from the early basilica. Blessed Sacrament Chapel Left of the apse is the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, designed in 1725 by Carlo Maderno and formerly known as the Chapel of the Crucifix. It is the only one of the four chapels with an apse. The crucifix, which is from the 14th century, is said to have spoken, or nodded, to St Bridget of Sweden when she prayed here in 1370. It has been attributed to Pietro Cavallini. The mosaic of the Blessed Virgin is from the 12th or 13th century. It was before this icon that St Ignatius of Loyola and his companions made their first public vows on August 22nd 1541. On the right is a wooden statue of St Paul, from the 14th or 15th century. The scratches are made by pilgrims wishing to take splinters away as relics. On the left side, the 17th century statue of St Bridget is by Stefano Maderno. The 13th century painter Pietro Cavallini is buried in the chapel. Apse mosaic The apse mosaic, which survived the fire, is from about 1220 and was made by Venetian artists. Christ is flanked by the Apostles Peter, Paul, Andrew and Luke. In the lower zone are Apostles carrying scrolls with the text of Gloria in excelsis, and a version slightly different to that used in Mass. Beneath Christ is a throne with the instruments of the Passion and a gemmes Cross. In the centre of the cross is another depiction of the Teaching Christ. The figure near Christ's feet is Pope Honorius III, who ordered the mosaic. In the Roman tradition, popes had been placed with the Apostles in mosaics and paintings. The artists, with their Venetian background, were influenced by Byzantine traditions, leading to this change. It was restored in 1747 by Pope Benedict XIV. The mosaics on the inside of the arch, visible if you stand close to the railing and look upwards, are also from the 13th century. Some were made by Byzantine artists, and some are by Pietro Cavallini. They were orginally on the outside of the façade, but were moved here after the fire. Chapel of St Lawrence This chapel, the first on the right, was designed by Carlo Maderno in 1629. It is also known as the Chapel of the Choir, as it is here that the Benedictine community sing Office and celebrate Mass. It was originally built as a chapel for the Blessed Sacrament, and was decorated with frescoes by Giovanni Lanfranco. At least one visiting monk has remarked that this painter liked depicting little girls from life as angels. Who were they? Botched repairs to the roof have unfortunately lead to recent damage to these frescoes. The wooden stalls are a later addition, designed by Guglielmo Calderini in 1928 and made by Monteneri. The marble triptych above the altar is of the school of Andrea Bregno, 15th century. Chapel of St Benedict This is the last chapel on the right, and is a sumptious design by Luigi Poletti, made to recall the cella of an ancient temple. The statue of the saint is by P. Tenerari, made in the 19th century. The twelve fluted Doric columns are ancient, from the Veio excavations. Altar of Our Lady of the Assumption This is in the right transept. Like its twin in the left transept, this altar is made of malachite and lapis lazuli, again a gift from Tzar Nicholas I. Above the altar is a mosaic copy of the Coronation of the Virgin by Guilio Romano, originally painted in 1492. Oratory of St Julian The frescoes of Apostles and martyrs are from the 13th century. Baptistery The room is ancient, but the arrangement of the baptistery is modern as it was restored in 1930 by A. Foschini. Cloister The cloister was built 1208–1235 by the Vassalletti family. The arcades have coupled colonnettes of different forms, some round, some polygonal, some twisted and some intertwined. They, and the entablature they support, have Cosmatesque decoration. The inscription in the mosaics is a poem describing the importance of his cloister in the life of a monk, and its use as a place of meditation and study. A few small carved animals survive between the columns, although most of these have gone. On the north side it is worth looking for a carving of Adam and Eve flanking a tree with the serpent snaking up it. The cloister garth is now occupied by a rose garden of high quality (for Italy, anyway). The walls of the walks are a display of items of ancient sculpture and epigraphy recovered in excavations, especially during the rebuilding. More of these are on the walls of the internal corridors of the abbey, which are only accessible to guests of the monastery. Chapel of Relics The Chapel of Relics has a set of chains said to be the prison chains of St Pauls, used in the last days before his execution. They are exposed in the church on his feasts. There are also numerous other relics. Library The library has in its possession the Bible commissioned by King Charles the Bald for his wedding in 870, which is the oldest preserved Carolingian manuscript. It was made under the supervision of Archbishop Hincmar of Reims (845-875). It may have been given to Pope John VIII at Christmas 875. Museum and shop Continuing from the cloister, you reach a museum with paintings, icons and other objects, and a shop with souvenirs, postcards and products made by the monks. The liqueurs that they make are of very high quality; beware of the absinthe, which is 68% alcohol! There are also pharmaceutical items, toiletries and foodstuffs from other monasteries. See the abbey website for details of the products on offer. Bell-tower The bell-tower was added in the 11th or 12th century. The first one weas destroyed by an earthquake in 1349. Pope Clement VI had a new one built. It survived the fire, but was destroyed during the rebuilding. It was rebuilt by Luigi Poletti between 1840 and 1860 with a different look, and now resembles a Roman tomb found in the south of France. It's 65 metres high, with five floors. The clock faces on the second level are by Mariano Trevellini, and were made in 1863. The upper three floors are laid out according to the canon of Alberti's towers, having the shapes, from bottom to top, of a square, an octagon and a circle. Their columns are arranged in the classical manner, with the heavy Doric style at the bottom, then the lighter Ionic style and on the top level Corinthian columns. There are seven bells in the tower. Poletti placed four bells in it, all from the old church. Two were remelted in 1863 and 1930, and the other two, which dated to 1658, were kept here until 1959. That year, Blessed Pope John XXIII increased the number of bells to seven. Gregorian portico On the north side is a portico opening in on the north transept of the church. It is known as the Gregorian portico because it was built under Pope Gregory XVI (1831-1846) by Luigi Poletti. The columns were taken from the old building; one of them bears Pope Siricius' inscription about the building of the Theodosian basilica. Ancient cemetery Under the covered building in the middle of the road outside the church are tombs of the cemetery in which St Paul was buried. It was reported on December 7th 2006 that Giorgio Filippi, an archeologist and inscriptions expert at the Vatican Museums and working for the Vatican, had unearthed a marble sarcophagus dating from "at least 390" as they worked to excavate the ancient crypt beneath the church. The sarcophagus has Paolo Apostolo Martyr (Paul Apostle Martyr) written on it and is very likely to contain the remains of Saint Paul who was executed by the Emperor Nero in 65AD. In 2002 and 2003, Filippi examined the sarcophagus after having removed pavement stones to access chambers below the bascilica. Three vertical holes leading down to the lid were found, one of which is closed but thought to have lead directly into the sarcophagus. This was likely used to allow objects to come into contact with the remains of St. Paul in order to create secondary relics. These were popular in the late fourth century after Emperor Theodosius banned the trade of corporal relics. The New Testament states in Acts 19:11-12 "God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them." External links *Official diocesan web-page *Italian Wikipedia page *More pictures of the basilica at Wikimedia Commons. *Abbey's web-page *"Romeartlover" web-page with 18th century engraving *Info.roma web-page *"Sacred-destinations" web-page *Vatican's website with virtual tour *Engraving of the ruin after the great fire *Piranesi engraving of the basilica before the fire *Youtube video of the basilica *Youtube video of an English tour of the basilica (Recommended.) *Youtube video of the cloister *Youtube video of the bells being rung Paolo fuori le Mura Paolo fuori le Mura Paolo fuori le Mura Category:4th century Category:19th century Category:Convent churches and chapels